Egg Fried Rice

I followed Ken Hom's recipe as published on the BBC web site. The only tweaking I did was; the addition of fresh peas.

Ingredients
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2tsp sesame oil1 tsp salt
2 tbsp/1fl oz/30ml oil
2 cups long-grain rice cooked and completely cooked
¼tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
1/2 cup peas

Method
1. Put the eggs, sesame oil and half the salt in a small jug or bowl, mix with a fork and set aside.
2. Heat a wok over a high heat. Add the oil and, when it is very hot and slightly smoking, add the cold cooked rice and peas. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until it is thoroughly heated through.
3. Next drizzle in the egg and oil mixture and continue to stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until the eggs have set and the mixture is dry.
4. Add the remaining salt and the pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes longer, then toss in the spring onions. Stir several times, turn once on to a platter and serve at once.

Thai Vegetable Panang Curry

Ingredients
Mushrooms cut into quarters
Baby Corn; cut length ways into 2/3 slices
Red Pepper; cut into matchsticks
Green Pepper; cut into matchsticks
Yellow Pepper; cut into matachsticks
2 large potatoes, Boiled and cut into chunks
1 head broccoli, cut into florets; boiled, microwaved or steamed
3 kaffir or lime leaves; shredded 2 tablespoon of Thai basil
Roasted cashew nuts
3 tablespoon Panang curry paste
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon cooking oil
400 gram tin coconut milk
1/2 cups (125ml) water

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium high heat add the mushrooms, fry for a few minutes.
2. Add the baby corn and peppers cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the panang curry paste, cook, until you can see the oil,
4. Add the coconut milk, water, kaffir leaves basil and fish sauce and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender.
5. Add the broccoli and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add the cashew nuts, stir and serve

Serve with rice

Prawn Pad Thai

Ben and I cooked this together. I was the sous chef, I got all the ingredients prepared, he, being a master cook. put it together.

Prawns Pad Thai
For Sauce
2 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar or gur / jaggery; grated
½ teaspoons of red chilli powder; or to taste

Mix the tamarind paste, fish sauce and gur in a warmed pan, stir until the gur melts, add the chilli powder, and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

Noodles
250gm rice sticks or noodles;
2 tablespoon vegetable oil2
teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
20 large tiger prawn; deviened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with the 1 tablespoonsesame oil
6 spring onions sliced diagonally into 1 and 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup of Chinese chives; cut in to 1 and 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup of green beans; cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup bean sprouts (home grown!)
1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 lime, cut into wedges
chilli flakes

Method
1 Soak the noodles in cold water for about 30 minutes or when soft.
2. Drain the noodles.
3. Heat the wok, and then add the oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the garlic and ginger; stir for a few minutes.
4. Add the prawns stir for 3-4 minutes and remove and keep aside.
5. Add the chives, spring onions and beans, stir-fry for a few minutes.
6. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 2 minute, add the sauce, little at the time
7. When the noodles are covered with sauce, push them to one side of the wok and scramble the eggs and sesame oil mixture.
8. Add the prawns, half the peanuts and bean sprouts. Mix, place in serving bowl or individual plates.
9. Garnish with the remaining peanuts, the coriander and lime wedges.
Extra chilli powder / flakes can be added at the table.

Serves 4

Thai Chicken Satay

Ben made this last Sunday.

Chicken Satay
Ingredients
8oz chicken breast cut in small cubes
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons coriander leaves
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste; available from most Asian stores
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oil

Method
In a large bowl mix together all ingredients for marinade add the meat.
Cover and leave in refrigerator for 30mins.
Place chicken on skewers, Grill until cooked.

Peanut sauce
3/4 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ground roasted peanuts

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer for 15mins stirring constantly.

Serve the chicken with the peanut sauce, nice hot or cold.

Thai Fish Cakes

I used Rick Stein recipe without any tweaking, the fish cakes were delicious, disappeared within minutes. I did not serve it with the sauce describe below, but with some sweet and sour sauce (as I was running out of time!)

Ingredients
450g/1lb ling or coley fillets, skinned and cut into chunks
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 kaffir lime leaf or 1 strip or lime zest, shredded very finely
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (leaves and stalks)
1 egg
1 tsp palm sugar or muscovado sugar, I used gur / jaggery
½ tsp salt
40g/1½oz French beans, sliced thinly into rounds
150ml/5fl oz groundnut or sunflower oil

For the sweet and sour cucumber sauce:
50ml/2fl oz white wine vinegar
100g/4oz caster sugar
1½tbsp water
2 tsp Thai fish sauce
50g/2oz cucumber, diced very finely
25g/1oz carrot, diced very finely
25g/1oz onion, chopped very finely
2 red bird's eye chillies, sliced thinly

Method
1. For the sauce, gently heat the vinegar, sugar and water in a small pan until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to the boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and leave to cool
3. Stir in the fish sauce, cucumber, carrot, onion and chillies. Pour into four small dipping saucers or ramekins and set aside.
4. For the fish cakes, put the fish in a food processor with the fish sauce, curry paste, kaffir lime leaf or lime zest, chopped coriander, egg, sugar and salt. Process until smooth, then stir in the sliced green beans.
5. Divide the mixture into 16 pieces. Roll each one into a ball and then flatten into a 6cm/2½in disc.
6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the fish cakes in batches for 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper, then serve with the sweet and sour cucumber sauce.

I doubled the recipe for my party.

Sunday Thai Lunch

Recipes to follow soon!

Gur Gajar athanu / Hot and Sweet Carrot Pickle

Ingredients

4 kg carrots; cut into baton style sticks
6 tablespn salt
1 cup split/hulled mustard seeds
1/2 cup coarsely ground coriander
1/2 cup coarsely ground fenugreek
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 sticks cinnamon
4 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods
8 black peppercorns
2 cups oil
1 cup ground red chillies
2 teaspns turmeric powder
4 cups grated gur / jaggery

Method

1. Mix the salt and carrots well, spread the carrots on a large tablecloth and dry in the sun
2. Place the whole spices; mustard seeds, coriander, fenugreek, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns in large container.
3. Heat the oil in another pan, and add to the whole spices.
4. Add chillies and turmeric to the masala, mix
5. Add the gur / jaggery and mix.
6. When cool add the dried carrots mix and place in sterile bottles.
7. This pickle is ready to eat immediately, but improves with age.